Supreme Court Guidelines on Reservation Policy:An Evaluation

In Vol. III, No. 2, (April-June, 1991), issue of the Journal of Indian School of Political Economy, Government’s policy towards the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) had been traced from the early 1900s. In August 1990, the then Government had announced its policy towards the backward classes, based on the recommendations of the Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission). This announcement had led to widespread riots. The Government’s notifications had been challenged through writ petitions before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court gave its judgement on the writ petitions in November, 1992. The present paper evaluates the Supreme Court’s judgement in this regard.